Althouse: "Walking with breaks might use more energy, but dogs can’t stand it."

October 18, 2024

"Walking with breaks might use more energy, but dogs can’t stand it."

The Guardian explains.

I thought it was the dog that took breaks, and the human that couldn't stand it.

36 comments:

Christopher B said...: My dog-walking is about 50/50. He doesn't like it when my pace slows, and I periodically have to cool my heels while he attends to business.; 10/18/24, 12:05 PM
Political Junkie said...: Bingo. Our little dog makes what should be a 15 minute walk an hour long walk.; 10/18/24, 12:06 PM
john mosby said...: In blue cities, you can increase the efficiency of your dog walk by crapping on the sidewalk yourself. Two things off your daily list with one stroke!

JSM; 10/18/24, 12:16 PM
rehajm said...: It isn't a dog walking with breaks. It is a dog taking many short walks and doing sniffing as a hobby in between...; 10/18/24, 12:20 PM
Curious George said...: My neighbor got a beagle and for a while I was walking her...well, she was dragging me or trying. Howling at everything along the way.; 10/18/24, 12:25 PM
R C Belaire said...: Walking the dog was a great evening pastime. I miss having one, but there are too many downsides in terms of freedom of movement during retirement. Putting a dog in kennel every few months just seems a bit cruel.; 10/18/24, 12:29 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: We have a black Lab. We don't go for a walk; we go for a sniff. Many sniffs.; 10/18/24, 12:29 PM
stlcdr said...: Probably should have a 'The Guardian' tag. They have a treasure trove of tripe.; 10/18/24, 12:30 PM
Rory said...: Maybe I'm wrong, but it's seemed to me that the sniff is the top priority. They'll even take an immersive sniff when the dog who left the sniffable is in plain sight a few feet away.; 10/18/24, 12:32 PM
loudogblog said...: I'm actually getting annoyed by these animal "experts" who keep telling us that we just don't understand out pets. I understand my dog 100% I know what he likes and I know what he doesn't like.; 10/18/24, 12:44 PM
tim maguire said...: That sentence doesn't make sense and the meaning we guess at is almost certainly wrong (as you point out); to make it make sense, change "with" to "without."; 10/18/24, 12:45 PM
Koot Katmandu said...: Guardian -they get everything wrong. My dogs like breaks to smell every plant.; 10/18/24, 12:46 PM
Aggie said...: Thankfully, my dogs can't read.; 10/18/24, 12:47 PM
Tina Trent said...: Well, we don't stop to pee on trees. And many housedogs have hip problems, so walking hurts, while running free (if they can do that) hurts a lot less.; 10/18/24, 12:49 PM
Tina Trent said...: I doubt they'd read the Guardian, at least. Dogs would read the New York Post; it's cats, who are communists, who would read The Guardian.; 10/18/24, 12:52 PM
Clark said...: Dogs can stand it if you have a pocketful of treats.; 10/18/24, 1:37 PM
Aggie said...: They were trained, on papers like the Guardian and the NYT, if you know what I mean.; 10/18/24, 1:42 PM
traditionalguy said...: Chasing squirrels is a dog’s natural right.; 10/18/24, 1:59 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “ My dog-walking is about 50/50. He doesn't like it when my pace slows, and I periodically have to cool my heels while he attends to business”

My partner uses that euphemism to mean to pee and poop. More the latter than the former. When I walk the dog, it means a lot of start/stop. As she has to investigate a lot of smells. But with my partner, it’s supposed to be at a constant brisk pace. When the three of us are out for a walk, I explain that the problem is that I have too many females in my life trying to make decisions at the same time. And I am the one caught in the middle, having to actually control the dog, since my partner has a bad back (and esp running after deer can be hard on her, when the dog hits the end of her leash). That’s the problem - only one of them can be the alpha female in the family, and being females, neither is willing to grant the other that honor long term, or even longer than 15 minutes. I have much the same problem with her sister and daughter. Being male is much easier - you are the alpha, until you are deposed, but that just doesn’t really change very often. Male hierarchies are much more stable.; 10/18/24, 2:19 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Actually, chasing any prey animal, that is mostly those without stereoscopic vision (from the rabbit thread the other day). Our 20 lb dog’s favorite quarry are pre-venison’s (deer), even when 3x as large.; 10/18/24, 2:23 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Actually, chasing any prey animal, that is mostly those without stereoscopic vision (from the rabbit thread the other day). Our 20 lb dog’s favorite quarry are pre-venison’s (deer), even when 3x as large.; 10/18/24, 2:23 PM
Mrs. X said...: The author's study result, with a sample size of one dog, (which he cops to) is contravened by many Althouse commenters' experiences with a sample size of one (or more) dogs. This includes me with my dog who needs to be coaxed off the bed, coaxed into her harness, coaxed out the door and dragged down the street. She's only 4, not overweight, but very inert. She's happy enough when she gets to the park, having stopped every few yards to sniff those yummy NYC smells.; 10/18/24, 2:38 PM
William50 said...: Our dog Sally (see avatar) is a jackabea, jack russell-beagle mix. It is impossible to take her for a walk without numerous stops for sniffing. She can easily turn a 15 min walk into a 30 minute sniff-a-thon. Snif sniff, run to the next stop, sniff sniff run to the next stop. 15 years old and hasn't lost a step, or sniff.; 10/18/24, 2:52 PM
Hassayamper said...: I'm lucky that my son lives nearby and can dog-sit for us if we travel. I couldn't imagine life without the pleasure we get from walking and petting our two little "terrier-ists".; 10/18/24, 3:23 PM
Hassayamper said...: My girl dog is mostly indifferent to smells, and much more interested in barking at birds, other dogs, strange people, yard signs, holiday decorations, and invisible figments of her imagination.

My boy dog sniffs everything vertical along our path, and sprinkles a few drops of pee about every third or fourth stop, presumably wherever he detects another male's scent. Sometimes he lifts his leg 20 times in a 20 minute walk.; 10/18/24, 3:29 PM
Quaestor said...: "For my part, I can only say that both the dog and I were unusually exhausted after our highly inefficient afternoon walk."

How did Tim Dowling know his dog was exhausted? Furthermore, how does he know anything without hundreds of double-blind trials, publication, peer review, and repeatable results. Why would anyone trust anything published by the Guardian? Let Dowling address that question first. (No fair asking the dog.); 10/18/24, 3:45 PM
tim maguire said...: Dogs love breaks, they just like to decide when.; 10/18/24, 4:51 PM
typingtalker said...: This is the bipedal (or quadrupedal) equivalent of start-stop driving in your four-wheel automobile or two-wheel bicycle. You expend energy accelerating the mass over and over again rather than just coasting to your destination.; 10/18/24, 5:39 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: “Tina Trent
I doubt they'd read the Guardian, at least. Dogs would read the New York Post; it's cats, who are communists, who would read The Guardian”

Jesus, no. I’ve never met a cat that didn’t have an Ayn Rand tote bag.; 10/18/24, 5:52 PM
J L Oliver said...: My dog needs to read the pee mail.; 10/18/24, 6:53 PM
boatbuilder said...: Your dog considers you to be endlessly fascinating, and wants you to tell it/show it what to do. It is looking to you for direction. Don't let your dog turn your walks into a meandering sniff-fest. When the dog tries to pull one way, immediately turn around and walk fast in the opposite direction, jerking the leash as you do. Keep doing it until the dog figures out that it is supposed to pay attention to where you are going, not just goof around until it does something that draws a negative reaction from you, or engages you in a dogsled run (which they love). This training activity also engages the dog's brain, which is good for them and makes them feel useful.; 10/18/24, 6:57 PM
gspencer said...: Perhaps you need to be reminded. You're the owner. You call the shots.; 10/18/24, 7:22 PM
Tina Trent said...: Maybe I need to look deeper into the background of my cats.; 10/19/24, 5:48 AM
Christopher B said...: Since my wife is obsessed with getting help training the dog, we've had several. All of them contradict one another.; 10/19/24, 6:52 AM
Tina Trent said...: Why have a dog? I agree with training, but if their only exercise is leashed walks, for many breeds, that's a grim life.; 10/19/24, 8:52 AM
solar emp said...: I retired from a non profit utilities company with SC state retirement at age 53. I have 4 "youngins", 3 German Shepherds and a French Brittany. Anytime we leave the yard, I let them do there thing. If it takes 30 mins or several hours, I hang with them!!! If it wasn't for my youngins, I would have a hole in the couch, (aka, butt print), and would get winded walking to the mailbox.; 10/20/24, 9:05 PM